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Do you have a broody hen that isn’t getting the “No More Babies” message? Try these tips on how to break a broody hen.
Written by Michelle Cook – We have a hen here that we call Broody Betty. She’s a red hen from Rhode Island, and she seriously wants to have some kids. I don’t want any more chicks, but she doesn’t seem to care. From spring through early fall, Betty gets excited at least four or five times. A few of our other chickens have also tried hatching a few eggs, but none beat this girl. If you have your own foster home, here are some things you can do to break the brooding cycle.
Brood hen signs
Before a hen fills her brood, there are a few signs you may notice. The hen may begin to stay closer to the coop than usual, give up her food, or move away from other chickens. The biggest tell-tale sign for me is when a docile hen starts being nasty to her coop mates. A chicken may hiss or peck at another chicken, or it may blow itself up and threaten other chickens.
If you notice any of this behavior, start collecting as many eggs as you can. If she doesn’t have any eggs to sit on, you may be able to stop the cycle before it starts.
If you release your hens and suddenly notice a significant decrease in egg production, this is also a sign of a broody hen hiding somewhere on your property. Just before the hen incubates, she will start collecting eggs for her nest. This means stealing them from your nesting boxes. She will lay an egg under her wing and carry it to her designated location and back to another. Earlier in the year, Brody caught Betty with 15 eggs. We only have 22 chickens. I managed to steal almost all of my eggs that day!
Take out the eggs
For most chickens, removing the eggs from under them for a few days will break the brooding cycle. They seem bored of finding new eggs to sit on every day and decide those little chicks just aren’t worth it. Broody Betty will steal eggs for at least a week before she decides to give them away.
To remove the eggs, gently place your hand under the chicken and pull out the eggs. Enter from the rear, as most brooding hens do not appreciate this and may peck at you if you try to enter from the front. You should not lift the hen up or push her away from the nest. This just creates a cranky chicken and gives it the chance to turn around and hit you.
Once you have all the eggs some hens will jump out of the nest and wander away and some will just sit there and beat. Brody Beatty crying. I am serious for all of you. This girl is standing outside her empty nest, putting her head down and moaning. I feel like a giant monster every time.
Remove the bedding
After removing the eggs, removing the bedding can discourage the hen from jumping back onto the nest. Chickens that plan to sit on a nest for a few weeks want to feel comfortable, and removing bedding makes the nest less comfortable. Want to sit on a hardboard for a few weeks? Me too, and chickens feel the same way.
If you have multiple laying hens, be sure to leave the bedding in the other nesting boxes. Brooding hens tend to have one particular box that they prefer to sit in, and removing bedding from that box can discourage them.
faking them
If you have a chicken like Betty’s, and you can’t stand to see it cry, you can fake it. What I mean by that is replace the eggs with something else. Golf balls or fake eggs work great. This technique will work on some chickens and some will call your trick. I arrived under a hen and removed an egg and replaced the golf ball thinking I was smooth, only to find the golf ball fired and a new egg under the hen the next day.
Lots of dumb chickens.
The drawback to this method is that it will keep the hen in the brooding cycle longer. Which means no eggs from them and a nesting box you can’t use.
Aggressive brooding chickens
Broody chickens aren’t the friendliest creatures on the planet, but some of them can be downright nasty. The good news is that most of them take a lot more stance than they would in an actual attack. If you have a very aggressive hen, you’ll need to take a few simple precautions to keep yourself safe when handling your chick.
- Wear a long-sleeved shirt or sweat shirt
- Use heavy leather gloves to protect your hand
- If available, get a friend there to help you (decorated in the wardrobe itself)
- Always reach under the chicken from the back. If your nesting box does not allow this, you may need to remove it from the nest.
Even if your broody hen is aggressive, you will still need to remove the eggs from under her at least every other day. Otherwise, you will end up with more chicks or a stinky mess in your coop. (Ask me how I know!)
Having a broody hen is not the end of the world. It may be a little uncomfortable for a few days, but this too will pass. If you are interested in hatching chickens with a broody hen, check out this article.
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Michelle Cook She is a farmer, author, and National Press Association communications specialist. She raises chickens, goats, and vegetables on her small farm in Virginia’s beautiful Allegheny Mountains. If she isn’t tending to her farm outside, you can find her curled up in a chair with her nose stuck in a good book.